Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is a cancerous (malignant) bone tumor that usually develops during the period of rapid growth that occurs in adolescence, as a teenager matures into an adult.

Alternative Names

Osteogenic sarcoma

Causes

Osteosarcoma is the most common cancerous (malignant) bone tumor in youth. The average age at diagnosis is 15. Boys and girls have a similar incidence of this tumor until late adolescence, at which time boys are more commonly affected.

The cause is not known. In some cases, osteosarcoma runs in families, and at least one gene has been linked to increased risk. This gene is also associated with familial retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eye that occurs in children.

Osteosarcoma tends to occur in the bones of the:

Shin (near the knee)

Thigh (near the knee)

Upper arm (near the shoulder)

This cancer occurs most commonly in larger bones and in the area of bone with the fastest growth rate. Osteosarcoma can occur in any bone, however.

If the tumor has not spread to the lungs (pulmonary metastasis), long-term survival rates are very high. If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, there is still a good chance of cure with effective treatment.

Before major surgery to remove the tumor, chemotherapy is usually given. Chemotherapy is also used to kill or shrink any cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body.

Common chemotherapy medicines include:

Cisplatin

Carboplatin (Paraplatin)

Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)

Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)

High-dose methotrexate with leucovorin

Ifosfamide (Ifex)

Surgery is used after chemotherapy to remove any remaining tumor. In most cases, surgery can remove the tumor while saving the affected limb (this is called limb-salvage surgery). Rarely, more radical surgery (such as amputation) may be necessary.

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